The Briefing: The Supreme Court Limits the Reach of The Lanham Act
The U.S. Trademark Use Requirement and Associated Risks and Strategies for Chinese Applicants
On June 29, 2023, in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., 600 U.S. ___ (2023), the U.S. Supreme Court held that the Lanham Act could not extend to trademark infringement that occurred almost entirely outside...more
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court issued a much-anticipated trademark decision in Abitron Austria v. Hetronic International concerning the global reach of the Lanham Act. The Court determined that U.S. law does not extend...more
In the United States, trademarks are governed on the federal level by the Lanham Act (also known as the Trademark Act of 1946), which was enacted on July 5, 1946, and is codified at 15 U.S.C. § 1051 et seq. The Lanham Act...more
On June 29, the United States Supreme Court issued its highly anticipated decision regarding the foreign reach of the Lanham Act, the federal statute that prohibits trademark infringement. The decision confirms the...more
The Supreme Court’s June 29, 2023, decision in Abitron Austria GMBH v. Hetronic Int’l, Inc., No. 21-1043, ended decades of circuit splits on the standard for determining the extraterritorial reach of the Lanham Act (see our...more
On June 29, 2023, in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the Lanham Act does not have an extraterritorial scope and applies only in cases where the alleged infringing “use...more
The Supreme Court recently ruled in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc. that Lanham Act (Act) remedies for trademark infringement do not extend to infringing conduct that takes place outside the United...more
In its recent decision in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., the Supreme Court instructed that certain trademark infringement claims can only be pursued where the infringing conduct occurs domestically. The...more
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., limited the extraterritorial reach of the Lanham Act. The majority opinion was written by Justice Alito and joined by Justices...more
The U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision on June 29, 2023, addressing the scope of federal trademark law on conduct occurring outside of the United States. The case, Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc.,...more
On June 29, 2023, the Supreme Court decided Abitron Austria GMBH v. Hetronic Int’l, Inc., No. 21-1043, addressing the extraterritoriality of the Lanham Act. The Court held that §1114(1)(a) and §1125(a)(1) of the Lanham Act do...more
On June 29, 2023, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously in favor of the petitioner in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International Inc. However, the justices were divided 5-4 as to the precise reasoning and what facts...more
Can a party be held liable in the United States for trademark infringement based on use of a mark in other countries? In Abitron Austria GmbH et al. v. Hetronic Int’l, Inc., 600 U.S. __ (2023), the Supreme Court recently...more
The Supreme Court of the United States recently considered whether portions of the Lanham Act that relate to trademark infringement can be applied to conduct that takes place outside the United States. Abitron Austria GmbH et...more
The Supreme Court decided the extraterritorial reach of two provisions of the Lanham Act prohibiting trademark infringement. Abitron appealed the Tenth Circuit’s decision that the Lanham Act extended to Abitron’s foreign...more
On June 29, 2023, the US Supreme Court issued a unanimous decision in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic International, Inc., limiting the extraterritorial reach of provisions of the Lanham Act prohibiting trademark...more
The US Supreme Court unanimously overturned a $90 million verdict for trademark infringement under the Lanham Act, 97% of which was attributed to purely extraterritorial conduct. While the holding attempts to draw a...more
The Supreme Court ruled yesterday that the Lanham Act infringement and unfair competition provisions "are not extraterritorial and that they extend only to claims where the claimed infringing use in commerce is domestic." In...more
A June 29, 2023 Supreme Court ruling limits the reach of the Lanham Act to essentially only domestic use of a mark in commerce. The Supreme Court’s opinion in Abitron Austria GmbH v. Hetronic Int’l Inc. overturns a Tenth...more
How far does the Lanham Act’s reach extend? The Supreme Court gave us one answer in Abitron Austria GmbH et al. v. Hetronic International, Inc. and made it simple: not very far....more
Addressing a refusal to register for failure to function as a trademark, the Trademark Trial & Appeal Board (Board) reversed, finding that the evidence of consumer perception of “100% THAT BITCH” did not demonstrate that the...more
Under the Lanham Act, a trademark is considered abandoned “when its use has been discontinued with intent not to resume such use.” Three consecutive years of nonuse constitutes a prima facie showing of abandonment...more
I used to love pocket watches. My Wyatt Earp Halloween costume was not complete until I had a gold pocket watch hanging from my black vest. It’s no surprise then that reading the court’s decision on a motion for summary...more
On April 10, 2019, the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit redesignated as precedential its January 14, 2019 decision upholding the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board’s (TTAB) decision affirming refusal of...more
Claimed Use of US Trademark in Croatia Cannot Support Lanham Act Claim Where No Effect on US Commerce Shown - Adria MM Productions, Ltd. v. Worldwide Entertainment Group, Inc., US District Court for the Southern District...more